States Pushing Back Against 'The Big Lie' Targeting GOP Efforts To Steal the 2020 Election

The pushback against Trump's "Big Lie" is picking up steam in some swing states.

Here's What's Happening:

Arizona's Democratic secretary of state calls for investigation of Trump, Giuliani and others

(Read article here)

Michigan AG and Police Confirm Probe Sparked by State GOP-Led Report Debunking Election Fraud Claims

(Read article here)

Michigan AG To Probe 'Election Fraud' Grifters; Trump Lawyers May Face Reckoning Monday

(Watch video here)

A 'Sham': Pennsylvania AG Torches State GOP's Push For Arizona-Style Election Audit

(Read article here)

Here Are The Attempts By State and Local GOP to 'Review' 2020 Election

(Read article here)

Meanwhile in Trump Land

Trump's Big Lie is Getting Supercharged by 2022 GOP Candidates

(Read article here)

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For the sake of brevity I've only selected some recent articles/video that apply to today's topic.

As you can see, democracy is in peril with a rogue former president trying to destroy our electoral system. But, there is resistance against The Big Lie - and that's not going away soon.

McMafia Law and Trump: The UK Looking at 'The Donald's Money Laundering Grift

Thus far, Scottish ministers have resisted investigating criminal allegations against Donald Trump's properties in their country.

Despite having two golf courses - Turnberry and Aberdeenshire, Trump hasn't paid taxes on either of them.

Sound familiar?

That's changed. The International Trump Crime Family could be in big trouble with the British government under "The Unexplained Wealth Order" in the near future.

A U.S.-based nonprofit Avaaz, an online activist network, filed a court action to press the Scottish government to wield its popularly known "McMafia" law to force Trump to reveal the mysterious sources for his all-cash purchases and development of his two golf resorts.

Despite years of concerns about the properties, Parliament voted, 89 to 32, in February against a Scottish Green Party motion to force Trump to reveal his cash sources. 

Despite that, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she won't protect the former president if wrongdoing is found.

Avaaz filed another petition in Scotland's highest civil court this week seeking a judicial review of the government's decision not to pursue the McMafia Law against Trump's businesses.

Also this week, there's been speculation that the golf resorts are part of a money laundering operation.

Neither resort has ever made a profit - despite the millions Trump has pumped into them. To rub salt into the wound, the resorts collected about $800,000 in COVID-19 subsidies from British taxpayers.

A news update

Allen Weisselberg, Trump's CFO, is no longer the director and controller of Trump International Golf Club Organization as of yesterday.

He was terminated from the United Kingdom registry of private companies after his criminal indictment in Manhattan.

The parallels and connections between the New York investigation, and the Scotland investigation can't be ignored. "Teflon Don" Trump is in big trouble.

I can't help recalling another "Teflon Don" John Gotti, who was eventually brought to justice and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Predator Politicians in a Star Wars Bar and More

The image of Trump in the White House with a daily collection of freaks and partisan puppets besmirching democracy is... riveting.

Rumor was that White House aides called the Oval Office and adjoining room, a "Star Wars Bar," because of how weird it was watching the daily display of characters slither in-and-out.

New books are coming out daily about the Trump administration, and very few are flattering. 

Testimony - after testimony - paints a picture of a dangerous narcissistic sociopath banging around the White House like a pissed-off 5th grader who didn't get a hamburger for lunch.

His minions are struggling now that they are out-of-power. Most are having trouble finding new jobs. Some have landed at right-wing media outlets allowing them to continue worshipping Trump by telling lies on his behalf.

Some of Trump's inner circle aren't doing so well right now. 

In particular, Rudy Giuliani, who is paying the price for lying for Trump.

A New York court suspended Rudy from the New York Bar on June 24th for his "false and misleading" statements on behalf of Trump.

Yesterday, the District of Columbia suspended Trump's most prominent attorney from practicing law in the nation's capitol. And Rudy's worries are far from over.

He's also being sued by Dominion Computer Systems for making false accusations of voter fraud that defamed the company after the 2020 election.

Two more Trumpies, Sidney Powell and Mike (The Pillow Guy) Lindell, are also being sued with Rudy for the same reasons. The addled trio claimed Dominion rigged the last election to help Joe Biden.

In addition, Rudy has to worry about the FBI investigation on him for his involvement with the Ukraine while lobbying for the Trump campaign on behalf of foreign interests.

Finally, there's another Justice Department investigation about possible illegal lobbying that he performed for Turkish clients.

As amused as I am by the Star Wars analogy, I have another updated one that I'd like to see:

Orange-clad Trump minions (plus Family) and his Orangeness breaking rocks in a chain-gang somewhere deep in Georgia during a heat wave.

Trump's Online Presence Has Been Laughable Since Losing the 2020 Election

You can be excused if you don't recall Trump's ill-fated attempt at having his own blog.

It went kaput after one month.

The reason why was simple - it didn't get any traffic worth mentioning. It was a clunky blog with no interactive features that are commonly found with good blogs.

Undaunted, Jason Miller (pictured above) Trump's longtime PR puppet, bragged about his association with a brand new Pro Trump social media platform -  Gettr.

If Trump's blog was a joke, Gettr is the comedy act that keeps on giving.

To begin with the new platform that Miller was talking about (designed for Trump) was launched with enough funny memes to make a book.

Gettr was hacked on it's first day. The accounts of its most popular people - including several Trump aides - were targeted. Even the official support page was compromised.

The fun didn't stop there however. The site was flooded with pornographic images and GIFs. Users spammed posts with graphic hentai videos and images of Hillary Clinton's face photoshopped onto a woman's naked body.

In an attempt to bring in right-wing followers the platform is advertised as "a marketplace for ideas." Code for crazies are welcomed.

In what I describe as sweet irony, this platform designed to attract Trump himself with it's Twitter-like features, still hasn't gotten Trump to subscribe to it.

Trump bitch for life, Steve Bannon, described the new platform as "the Twitter killer" in a post on the new site.

I highly doubt Twitter has much to worry about. It appears Gettr is headed for the trash heap where most Trump-inspired lies and propaganda goes.

Yesterday, Motherboard verified that a hacker posted a database to an online hacking forum claiming to have scrapped the information from the accounts of EVERY GETTR USER.

Private emails, exact usernames, bios, and birthdays of 85,000 users were hacked.

The self described anti-censorship platform for conservative voices continues to flounder like a shark out of water, as Trump seeks to have a presence on the internet. 

A Day in the Life of 'Ernie' The Polydactyl Kitten

From the start, Ernie was a special kitten.

He came into my wife and I's life, via our son, who rescued him.

But this was no ordinary rescue on city streets. It was something out of a movie.

Seven months ago when Ernie was only six-weeks-old, an owl sunk it's talons into his skinny neck and flew away with him! It was probably the same owl that took his sibling two days prior to the attack on Ernie.

In tears, my son who has a farm with an old barn, described the doomed kitten's screams as it was spirited away.

Then after two days, Ernie was taken by the owl, and he watched in horror as he twisted and squirmed in the owl's claws.

But then fate took a hand and little Ernie managed to wiggle free and fell down into a tree!

Not knowing if he was dead or alive, my son climbed up and found Ernie clinging with his big polydactyl paws to a branch.

He needed a home and we were glad to take him. My wife and I have fallen in love with this fantastic feline who makes us laugh every day.

What is polydactyl?

Simply put, they are cats with extra toes. Sometimes on all four paws, or just in the front, or back.

Ernie is called a Hemingway Cat because the famous American author Ernest Hemingway was given one by a sea captain. It's name was Snow White.

Today, the Hemingway House in Key West is the Hemingway Home and Museum. Almost 50 cats roam the property - all descendants of Snow White.

A Typical Day With Ernie 

From the moment I wake up - usually around 5 a.m. - Ernie is there to greet me.

He's seven-months-old now, but when I first brought him home he knitted in my beard which was thick enough then to protect the skin beneath.

Since trimming my beard he's moved on to knitting on blankets. As I make coffee he bounds around the kitchen and living room like a cat on crack!

His toys, stuffed with catnip, inspire him to greater heights of buffoonery every day. He heckles our other cats mercilessly, wanting to play.

Our two dogs - Molly, the Pug, and Butters, our Iggy - accept and even tolerate Ernie. It's like they know he's still a kitten.

By late morning - usually 10 or 11 a.m. - Ernie curls up in one of his several favorite napping spots, and blissfully drifts into dreamland.

There hasn't been a day when Ernie didn't make my wife and I laugh. Perhaps it's his youthful exuberance. Or, because he is such a special cat.

When Will They Wake Up? Another Top Trump Enabler 'Thrown Under The Bus'

Along with millions of other Americans, I don't understand why Trump supporters and allies continue to follow him even when he throws them "under the bus."

The latest case is none other than super fan, Rudy Giuliana, whose trying to get paid by Trump for his legal work on overturning the 2020 election.

A new book, "Landside: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency," by author Michael Wolff, describes Trump's post-presidency life at Mar-a-Lago resort, and how he's frustrated by the lack of progress to overturn the 2020 election result.

No one worked harder to please Trump than Rudy whose been Trump's personal lawyer and longtime ally loyally backing his lies.

The book reported that Trump was annoyed that he (Giuliani) tried to get paid for his election challenge.

Giuliani is now beset by crushing investigations and potentially millions of dollars in legal costs. He's implored the Trump family and aides to have the Trump campaign, with it's great wealth, to indemnify him.

All he's got so far is a "cold shoulder."

These are trying times for Trump's old buddy who is facing a Justice Department investigation into whether he broke foreign lobbying laws while working as Trump's lawyer.

No one knows exactly the amount owed to Giuliani by Trump but, at one point, Maria Ryan, an aide and rumored girlfriend of Giuliani, told the Trump campaign that his rate for working the election challenge was $20,000 a day, the New York Times recently reported.

The question is, "How does Trump still convince people to believe him after treating friends and foes alike as puppets to be discarded if they displease him?"

It's no secret Trump doesn't reward loyalty when he's in a pinch. Everyone in his circle is expendable if he's in trouble.

When, if ever, are people going to realize that when they become his minion he expects loyalty, but never returns it?

4th of July: Forget Traditional Fireworks - There's A Safer Alternative

              The statistics are grim.

(According to a 2021 report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

-- Last year eighteen people died after episodes involving fireworks. That's a hefty 50 percent increase from 2019.

-- About 15,000 people went to emergency wards because of fireworks injuries in 2020. A 56 percent increase over 2019.

-- Most of the firework injuries occurred from June 21 to July 21, and the two leading sources for injuries year-around were firecrackers and sparklers.

-- Children are the ones that are most frequently injured statistically. 

-- The biggest increase in injuries last year however, was in the 20 to 24-year-old category.

More Reasons Not To Use Traditional Fireworks:

-- Fireworks terrify household pets and other animals in nature.

-- Fireworks add toxic chemical pollutants to the air, water and land.

-- Fireworks trigger terror in PTSD victims.

-- Fireworks cause wildfires.

How to still have spectacular light shows

The 21st century version of traditional fireworks are drones with LED lights.

If China - where fireworks were invented - is hosting massive displays of drone light shows why can't the USA do the same?

The light show drones are usually controlled in fleets of hundreds by a remote computer to create colorful shapes and patterns in the night sky.

As the technology advances the fleets will grow (biggest current fleet is 2,018 according to Guinness World Records). 

Look at it this way; Americans will still get their spectacles in the sky, but people won't have to die.

There's no need to trash tradition. It just needs an update.

Trump's Response To His Company and CFO Being Criminally Indicted: Hold a Political Rally

Most Floridians today are mourning for the residents of a 12-story condominium that collapsed in Surfside.

Located near Miami, there's been 18 confirmed deaths and a 100 are still missing. It's a time of grief for the families of the dead and missing.

But not for Trump and his minions in the state.

Three-and-a-half hours away from where the tragedy occurred a hate rally is being held in Sarasota.

It's going to feature Trump ranting about his loss in the 2020 election, and the criminal indictment against his company and CFO Allen Weisselberg.

Amid reports that Gov. DeSantis wanted Trump to cancel the rally there appears to be a growing gap behind the two men.

DeSantis denied the reports. Trump's lackeys declined to discuss any differences between the two in the run-up to the Sarasota rally, issuing a statement saying they never planned to postpone the event.

I can't help but seeing the stark contrast between President Joe Biden, and former president Trump. Full of empathy, Biden came to Florida to meet with the families waiting to hear about their relatives fate.

Full of rage, Trump came to Florida to stir up hate and to encourage the insurrectionists following him.

Trump's Response To His Company Being Indicted: 'Look! There's a Squirrel!'

The day Trump's company and CFO were criminally indicted, he started the spin machine by claiming it was all a witch hunt.

That was quickly followed up by his favorite tactic of shouting "squirrel!" to divert people's attention.

"Who shot Ashli Babbit?" the former president asked after hearing about what an anonymous British Spectator author who claimed Mike Pence's security detail killed her.

Rumors go a long way in Trump's alternative reality approach to dealing with the reality that he's in big trouble. 

The more outrageous the better. It's the kind of fresh raw meat his acolytes crave.

Why go after Pence?

The answer lies within the Big Lie narrative. Because Pence didn't listen to Trump's urging to blow up the electoral process, he's become the enemy. 

Trump's willingness to embrace every conspiracy theory that he believes helps his cause is an endless source of rebuttal to truth.

Despite claiming to be "thrilled" after his company and CFO were criminally indicted yesterday, Trump knows he's in trouble unlike anything he faced before.

That's why I expect more outrageous claims by Trump and his minions in order to muddy the waters in media reports. It's one of his older tactics, but still works with the extreme right-wing core who support him.

I also expect this trial will go on for a long time, as more information is discovered during the process.

Meanwhile, Trump will be shouting "squirrel!" every time more information is exposed about the criminality behind his company, and his personal corruption.

Time To Pay The Piper: Trump Org and CFO Indicted

Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg (Center) turned himself in this morning.

Finally! Trump's luck has ran out. 

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UPDATE: Allen Weisselberg charged with 15 felony counts over a 15 year period

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The beginning of the end of Teflon Don's empire began this morning as Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg voluntarily turned himself in at 6:15 a.m. Eastern time.

The groundwork for indicting Trump's business was laid several years ago when Manhattan investigators began turning up evidence of tax evasion.

Investigators charged Weisselberg on evading taxes on fringe benefits, opening Pandora's box to a slew of further charges in the future.

Prosecutors are expected to continue pursuing their broader investigation into potential bank, insurance and more tax fraud.

Still in the line of fire are the officers of Trump Organization, starting with Trump himself and his family.

In his usual attempt to reverse reality, Trump claims he's thrilled about his company being investigated because it's going to hurt (are you ready for this?) "Sleepy Joe Biden."

Pause.

Thrilled? Hurt Biden? If you ever had doubts about Trump's sanity this response should change your mind. 

Unable to contend with reality, Trump does what he does best... deny, lie, deny, lie, etc.

I expect this investigation will go on for some time, especially as new indictments begin rolling out during the process.

It's questionable if this investigation will be Trump's swan song. Slippery as an eel, he's always managed to have others take the fall for him.

This case will be a definitive test for our justice system - can a wealthy man buy justice? Or, is true justice going to prevail?

The outcome of this investigation will determine Trump's future. If he comes away personally unscathed, democracy is going to face another assault that might not survive the second time around.  

Voting Today: House Republicans Terrified Of Jan.6 Insurrection Investigation

House Republicans, especially those that were complicit in the Jan. 6 riot, are panicking at the thought they'll be exposed as traitors when a select committee examines their actions.

If McCarthy and his cohorts had any sense at all they would have gone with the Democrats first offer of creating a bipartisan committee. But no.

Led by Trumpies, they blocked an independent, bipartisan panel that would have been modeled after the commission that investigated the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"They had an opportunity to really engage. And they didn't. So they can't now come back and say, 'Oh, that's not fair," House Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson told reporters yesterday.

The Republican party is doing everything in it's power to "move on" and ignore what happened on Jan.6th. Their already trying to rewrite history.

The Vote Is Today

The GOP opposition comes as McCarthy is facing pressure to take the investigation seriously from police officers who responded to the attack, Democrats and even some of his fellow Republicans.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has invited representatives of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia and the U.S. Capitol Police to sit in the gallery and watch the vote.

That will give House Republicans something to think about as they cast their vote. The victims will be closely watching.

It's worth noting that two Senate committees issued a bipartisan report with security recommendations earlier this month, but they did not examine the origins of the siege, leaving many unanswered questions.

Once again, Republicans are opposed to the truth behind the attempted Capitol coup. However, the truth will come out one way or another.